Packaging and display device



May 4, 1965 E. J. KNAPP ETAL 3,181,698

PACKAGING- AND DISPLAY DEVICE Filed Aug. 51. 1962 INVENTORS. Eugene J. Knapp Harry P. Laffkas THE ll? ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,181,698 PACKAGING AND DISPLAY DEVICE Eugene J. Knapp, Corning, and Harry P. Laifkas, Addison, N.Y., assignors to Corning Glass Works, Corning, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Aug. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 220,842 2 Claims. (Cl. 206-42) This invention relates to a unitary device for facilitating the packaging of a plurality of frangible articles in a single carton, and more particularly to a lightweight onepiece receptacle for positioning and maintaining a plurality of frangible cup-shaped articles in a protected impact-resistant orientation within a package and for aesthetically displaying such articles.

In the past, it has been customary to package cupshaped articles, such as tea cups and coffee cups, with numerous corrugated parts, excelsior, and various types of separators. The use of excelsior has always been objectionable to both the ultimate consumer and the retail merchant due to the inherent mess produced when unpacking the items. The use of multiple corrugated parts has also been objectionable to the retail merchant due to the dilficulty encountered in reinserting such parts when repackaging the item after display or examination by the consumer. In addition, due to the number of corrugated pieces utilized and the numerous folds required with such packing, manufacturers found that not only did the excessive time required for packaging subject them to substantial labor costs, but also the additional weight increased their shipping costs.

Further, due to the numerously folded and interfitting packaging materials heretofore required to package such items, it was necessary to completely remove the ware from the carton and its associated packing material in order to adequately display the goods. As a result it was necessary for the retail merchant to loosely display the ware on his shelves either in a stacked Ware to ware contact or in side by side close adjacency with each other. Not only was this type of display unattractive, but also due to the fact that the pieces of ware were openly displayed in ready contact with each other, they were frequently subjected to chipping and breakage through constant handling and examination by customers. In addition, such loosely displayed items were easily inadvertently knocked from the shelves by hurrying customers. Also, the merchant was eventually confronted with the almost impossible problem of repackaging the item in the proper position within the numerous packing components and reinserting them into the original container.

Our invention includes a novel, lightweight unitary receptacle for packaging a plurality of cup-shaped ware in impact-resistant orientation within a single carton. The receptacle is formed with a plurality of separated curvilinear cup-shaped cavities for receiving an individual cupshaped article and maintaining it in cushioned spaced-apart relationship with an adjacent cup-shaped article. The receptacle is formed so that the entire package and contents may be easily removed from or repackaged within the outer carton by merely removing the ware-retaining receptacle from or reinserting it within the outer carton. The cup-shaped retaining cavities are upwardly opened, exposing the cup-shaped articles retained therein, so that the ware may be conveniently displayed on the retail shelves an aesthetic manner while being retained in a protective receptacle or tray-like device. In addition, since the receptacle is formed of lightweight material such as a foamed plastic, preferably foamed polystyrene, and since only one receptacle is required per package, not only are labor costs materially reduced due to the minimum time required to assemble the package, but also shipping "Ice costs are materially reduced due to the reduction in weight over the previously required corrugated parts.

It thus has been an object of our invention to provide an improved packaging media for simplifying and expediting the packaging of a plurality of frangible articles in a single carton.

A further object of our invention has been to provide a unitary lightweight receptacle ror retaining a plurality of frangible cup-shaped articles in a protective impactresistant orientation within a package.

A further object of our invention has been to provide a foamed plastic receptacle for protectively retaining a plurality of cup-shaped articles in spaced-apart relationship within a package in such a manner so that the receptacle and articles may be easily removed from and reinserted into the package as a unit.

Another object of our invention has been to provide a foamed plastic receptacle for retaining a plurality of frangible cup-shaped articles in a cushioned spaced-apart relationship with each other within a package, and for aesthetically displaying such articles when removed from the package.

These and other objects of our invention 'will be more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following disclosure and accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a receptacle embodying our invention:

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the receptacle shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view in section taken along lines IIIILI of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view in elevation taken along lines IV-IV of FIGURE 1.

Referring now to the drawings, a receptacle 10 having a unitary body portion of rectangular configuration is shown having a front wall 11 provided with curvilinear recessed portions 12, side walls 13 and a back wall 14. A longitudinal wall 15 and a transverse wall 16 intersect to divide the receptacle into four cup-retaining cavities A, B, C, and D. With the exception of the recessed portions 12, formed in front wall 11 for facilitating visual examination of displayed ware, the cup-retaining cavities A, B, C, and D are identical. Accordingly, only cavity A will be described in detail, since the description of one cavity will suffice for all.

Each cup-retaining cavity is provided with a curvilinear or frusto-paraboloidal surface 17 in the form of a partial paraboloid, which not only forms a base portion but also one side wall surface of the cavity. The frusto-paraboloidal surface communicates with a back wall surface 18 and a front wall surface 19 of the cavity. A transversely-extending horizontal or planar base portion 20 extends between back wall surface 18 and front wall surface 19 along the base of side wall 21. An inclined planar surface portion 22 extends upwardly from base portion 20 and intersects the frusto-paraboloidal surface 17. It thus can be seen that the bottom surface of each cavity is composed of a planar surface 20, an inclined planar surface portion 22, and a frusto-paraboloidal or curvilinear surface 17, the extension of which also forms one side wall surface of the cavity.

The bottom portion of the receptacle 10 is provided with a recessed or relieved portion 23 adjacent each cavity. Each recessed or relieved portion 23 is open to the bottom surface of the receptacle 10 and substantially conforms with the contour of the inclined planar surface 22 and the frusto-paraboloidal surface 17, with the exception of a flat bottom surface 24 formed adjacent the front of the cavity.

In operation, a cup-shaped article such as a colfee cup is positioned within each of the cavities A, B, C, and D of receptacle 10, with the base of the cup against back wall surface 18 and the top edge thereof against front wall surface 19. Side wall portions of the cup are nestibsnugly positioned within the cavity and that lateral movement is prevented by side wall 21 and the upper extens'e of curvilinear surface 17, and that transverse movement is prevented by back wall surface 18 and front wall surface 19. The overall weight of the receptacle 10 is of course reduced by the relieved or recessed portions 23.

Although we have disclosed the now preferred embodi- 1 ment of our inventiomit will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined in the appended claims,

We claim: a g V 1. An improved lightweight receptacle for packaging and displaying a plurality of frangible cup-shaped articles comprising,la unitary body of foamed plastic material,

having a bottom portion and upwardly-extending wall portions, a pair of intersecting wall portions cooperating with said first-mentioned wall portions to form and bound four separate spaced-apart upwardly-open cup-retaining cavities; each of such cavities having a frusto-paraboloidal surface to conform to the contour of side portions of a' oloidal surface and at its'lower'end with said substan- Ware articles in spaced-apart relationship which comprises, a receptacle having a unitary body portion'of foamed polystyrene, a plurality of-separate upwardlyopen cavities each bounded by upright wall portions and formed in said body portion for retaining a plurality of cup-shaped-articles in spaced-apart relationship; each of said cup-retaining cavities having a bottom surface composed of a curvilinear surface portion for receiving side portions of a cup, an inclined planar surface portion communicating at its upper end with said curvilinear surface portion for'supporting ahandle on such cup, and a horizontal planar base portion communicating with the lower end-of said inclined planar surface portion for facilitatingY'the positionment of the outer edge of such handle; and said horizontal planar base portion extending along the lower end of one'of said bounding upright wall portions. 7

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,687,052 10/28 Barber 204-45.33 1,908,940 5/33 Weidel 21'7'52 2,295,478 '9/42 Jason 206 -4533 r 2,808,189 10/57 Williams 229-25 2,815,856 10/57 Caswell 2O6---65 3,016,177 1/62 Chaplin' 229 -2.5 3,061,089 10/62 Higgins 20665 7 THERON E; CONDQN, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, Examiner. 

1. AN IMPROVED LIGHTWEIGHT RECEPTACLE FOR PACKAGING AND DISPLAYING A PLURALITY OF FRANGIBLE CUP-SHAPED ARTICLES COMPRISING, A UNITARY BODY OF FOAMED PLASTIC MATERIAL HAVING A BOTTOM PORTION AND UPWARDLY-EXTENDING, WALL PORTIONS, A PAIR OF INTERSECTING WALL PORTIONS, COOPERATING WITH SAID FIRST-MENTIONED WALL PORTIONS TO FORM AND BOUND FOUR SEPARATE SPACED-APART UPWARDLY-OPEN CUP-RETAINING CAVITIES; EACH OF SUCH CAVITIES HAVING A FRUSTO-PARABOLOIDAL SURFACE TO CONFORM TO THE CONTOUR OF SIDE PORTIONS OF A CUP-SHAPED ARTICLE TO BE RETAINED THEREWITHIN, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANAR BASE PORTION EXTENDING ALONG THE BASE OF ONE OF SAID BOUNDING WALL PORTIONS FOR FACILITATING 